New and Improved Knockout Season 1 Ep 5
by soulfinder7
Summary: Someone is trying to kidnap the top IADC agents. Steve is missing in Los Angeles and it's up to Diana to go out there and save him.


Disclaimer: These characters are not mine and I do not intend to harm them. They belong to Warner Bros. and I promise to return them intact and no worse for wear when I finish with them. The story, however, belongs to me.

Authors Note: I liked the Episodes 2, 3 and 4 in season 2, so I'm not going to redo those. Starting with episode 5 I'm going to start messing with them. I'm not going to do anything with episode six unless in the future I get bored. I can see Joe leaving Steve in Washington DC since it concerned his daughter. I hope to have the next "episode" out in about a week or two. Enjoy!

With the "road so far or on the road again" I remind the reader what in the episode I'm not going to change. Let me know if this is confusing.

THE ROAD SO FAR…

Diana returns to her apartment one night to find two men breaking into her apartment. She spins into Wonder Woman and chases them out. She can't go after them because Joe Atkinson is calling her on the "bat phone" (WW phone? Heh heh). He is notifying her that Steve Trevor is missing and believed kidnapped in Los Angeles. Although Joe doesn't want her to go, Diana flies to Los Angeles to find him.

When the flight lands, Diana gets a taxi to take her to her hotel. She realizes she's being followed and tells the taxi driver Pete that she is an IADC agent and needs his help. The bad guys eventually stop the taxi and Diana runs off to get help, while Pete fights the bad guys.

She turns into Wonder Woman and captures one of the bad guys. Using her magic lasso she finds out where they were supposed to take Diana Prince after they kidnapped her. She lets them go and tells Pete to take Diana's bags to her hotel and Diana will pay him later.

The next morning, Diana realizes she's being followed by a "professional" because of something in his eyes. She gets the L.A.s finest police officers to guard her while she makes a phone call. She calls the L.A. IADC and finds out there is no news about Steve but that Joe Atkinson is coming out to L.A. that day.

Diana then calls Pete the Driver and asks him to help her. He says he's got to have someone take care of his child (who cannot speak due to a psychological condition) and will pick her up.

Pete drives Diana to the place the bad guys from the day before said they were supposed to take her. She spins into Wonder Woman, finds Angel Velasquez and uses her magic lasso on him. He says he doesn't know anything, that he's only part of the big picture. He explains to her that their organization is going to change the world. She ties him up and goes back to the cab, unaware that she is still being followed by the professional kidnapper.

The professional kidnapper follows them back to Pete's house where Diana is staying so she can make some phone calls and try to get a line on where Steve is.

This is where my story changes:

Meanwhile, Angel talks to Carolyn Hamilton (who has kidnapped Steve) and tells her he was visited by Wonder Woman. Carolyn talks to the professional kidnapper and tells him about Wonder Woman's magic lasso and that she keeps getting the truth out of them and that she keeps rescuing Diana Prince when they try to kidnap her. He makes plans not only to kidnap Diana Prince, but what to do with Wonder Woman should she try to intervene.

Pete drives her to the L.A. IADC office. She has a meeting with Joe Atkinson and the head of the LA IADC. She gives them her theory that Steve was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As Diana was leaving the IADC, Pete the Driver met her at the first floor elevator.

"Pete!" Diana exclaimed.

"Diana, I'm sorry to bother you but I just called home. Mrs. Garcia said someone was asking about you and then took Ted."

"Let's go!"

###

Before getting into the car with the professional, Diana watched as Ted ran to his dad. During the exchange, Ted spoke for the first time. It was a bittersweet moment.

During the drive, Diana grabbed the steering wheel and tried to get the car to go out of control. As the kidnapper attempted to gain back control of the car, Diana jumped out of the back seat. She ran to find a place to twirl into Wonder Woman.

With her tiara, Wonder Woman disarmed the kidnapper. She ran to him and was able to grab his hand before he could pick up the gun.

Suddenly the air was filled with choking gas and Wonder Woman fell to the ground, stunned.

The kidnapper grabbed her magic lasso and wrapped it around her shoulders. Wonder Woman looked surprised as she tried to stay conscious.

"Yes, Wonder Woman. I've heard what you've done to the other men and was prepared. Now quickly, how can I disarm you?"

"My, my belt. If it is removed, I become a mortal and have no super powers."

"Thank you for being so helpful", he said, removing her belt. Depleted of the last of her strength, Wonder Woman lost consciousness.

Wonder woman woke up as she was being pulled out of the car and led into the warehouse.

"Steve!" She looked in concern at the man who was tied to a bar above him.

Her hands were tied in front of her and as she tried to hurry toward Steve, the kidnapper grabbed her arm and pulled her back sharply.

"Who is this? I told you to bring me Diana Prince." Carolyn eyed this woman in the red, white and blue bathing suit.

"Miss Prince evaded capture once again due to Wonder Woman here. I thought with her out of the way, Diana Prince would be much easier to take."

"You have until dawn. I want her out of the way by the time the trade conference starts."

Steve struggled with his ropes. "You leave Diana Prince out of this!"

The kidnapper ignored Steve. He turned to Wonder Woman.

"Since you always seem to know when Diana Prince is in trouble, tell me, where is she?"

Wonder Woman straightened her back and looked straight ahead, silent.

He threw her magic belt onto the table in anger. "Tell me what I need to know!" Wonder Woman remained silent.

In frustration, the man struck Wonder Woman in the face. She was knocked to the ground.

Steve screamed in rage. "Leave her alone!"

Wonder Woman slowly stood up and looked at Steve.

The man saw the exchange between them. He took out his gun.

"I see you know Mr. Trevor. Why don't you tell me where Miss Prince is or I'll shoot him."

"No," Wonder Woman said weakly.

"You will not harm him", Caroline said, standing between the man and Steve. "I hired you. You will do as I say."

"Fine, but you'll need to help me find the girl. We can lock up Trevor and Wonder Woman in one of the rooms with a guard. Without her belt, Wonder Woman is no threat to us. But just in case…"

He took out the gas and sprayed it at Wonder Woman. She crumpled to the floor unconscious.

Carolyn untied Steve. "I'm sorry Steve. This is the only way."

Once untied, Steve ran to Wonder Woman. He rolled her onto her back.

"What did you do to her, you monster?" He asked, untying her hands.

The man started toward Steve but Carolyn intervened. "Leave him alone. We need to find the Prince girl by morning. It's already almost midnight."

"Fine. Mr. Trevor, since you seem to care so much about Wonder Woman, you can bring her with you. You're going into the room over there", he said, pointing his gun toward a dark room in the corner.

Steve gently gathered Wonder Woman in his arms. He was surprised how light and frail she seemed. She was so strong, he expected her to be heavier.

There was a small overhead light on in the closet like room. The floor was concrete and there were no windows.

He walked in and turned to Carolyn. "Please don't do this. There is still time to back out."

"When everything is done, I'll tell someone where you are. " With one last glance at him, Carolyn closed the door. Steve heard the door lock and the bolt put into place.

Steve carefully laid Wonder Woman onto the floor. He checked the door, trying the knob and then running into it. The door was not going to open.

He knocked on the walls, searching for any weak spots. The entire room was concrete. The ceiling had to be at least ten feet high. There was no escape.

Giving up, he went over to the still unconscious Wonder Woman. He sat down against the wall and gently brought Wonder Woman's head so it was on his lap.

Thinking she must be cold, he took off his cardigan and covered her in it.

Her cheek was swelling and he could see the red welt where Wonder Woman had been struck by the kidnapper. He gently touched the area, wishing he had the power to heal her.

He'd known Wonder Woman a month but had never really spent a lot of time with her. It was always she who came to his aid in the nick of time but never stayed long enough for him to get to know her. And he wanted to get to know her.

He took a long moment to just take in her beauty; her shiny black hair, long eye lashes, beautiful, full lips. She was beauty personified. He had never seen her look so helpless and it hurt his heart.

He felt so useless. There was nothing he could do for her right now but hold her. He owed her so much. She had saved him and Diana so many times in the short time he knew her. She didn't expect anything in return. Not even praise.

Who saved her when she was in trouble? Who helped her when she was scared? He didn't even know where she lived or came from. He didn't know how to reach her. She just always showed up when he was in trouble.

He felt her pulse on her wrist. It was weak and fast. What kind of poison had been sprayed at her? Was Wonder Woman going to die in his arms? He pushed back a stray hair from her cheek. "Please don't die on me", he whispered.

He thought about the first time he'd met her. He'd awakened after being knocked out by some thugs trying to switch his wristwatch with one that was bugged. If she hadn't stopped them, everything would have turned out bad. During that week she had come to his rescue several times.

His attention turned back to her face as her brow furrowed. A small whimper escaped her lips.

He stroked her cheek gently. Her skin was so soft.

Wonder Woman's eyes fluttered as she tried to keep them open. Her blurry eyes slowly cleared and she was looking into Steve's face.

"Hello", he said, congenially.

Wonder Woman smiled and tried to gather her wits. What was wrong with her? She felt so weak and foggy. Her eyes closed again and she had a hard time opening them.

His hand went to her shoulder as he looked at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I, I think so," she said. She looked around at her surroundings. "What happened?"

"Some man kidnapped you and sprayed you with something that knocked you out. Then he locked us in here."

Wonder Woman tried to sit up, but felt a wave of dizziness. She groaned slightly.

Steve's hand on her shoulder guided her head back down on his lap. "Hey, take it easy. Just rest a little bit. It's not like we can go anywhere. We're locked up here tighter than a clam with lockjaw."

Wonder Woman closed her eyes for a moment. Then she opened them and looked at Steve. "Clams can get lockjaw?"

Steve chuckled. "It's just an expression."

Wonder Woman took a deep breath and sat up, with Steve's help. The cardigan fell as she took a few more deep breaths. She looked around the room.

She started to stand up, but Steve stopped her. "Here, let me help you."

He stood up and took her hands to help her up. He held on until he was sure she was steady on her feet. She felt her abdomen and groaned. "He has my belt."

"He left it on a desk out there, but there's no way to get out of here. If I remember from Las Alamos, your belt is your source of power?"

Wonder Woman walked toward the door. "Yes. Away from my home, I must wear the belt or I am no stronger than a regular person."

Wonder Woman tried pushing on the door, then hitting the door with her shoulder. She stopped after a moment, with her arm on the door, winded.

Steve walked over. "You just got done telling me all of your strength is gone, but still you try to bust the door down?"

Steve took her by the arm and led her to the corner where they both sat down. "I have to try something Steve. If we don't get out of here, something terrible is going to happen at the trade conference tomorrow."

"I know. But the walls are concrete and the ceilings are way too high. Usually I'd just wait for you", Steve flashed a smile at Wonder Woman and she smiled back.

"Steve, are you okay? You've been missing for two days now." Wonder Woman looked him over to make sure there were no prominent injuries.

Steve waved a hand at her. "I'm fine. I was drugged for most of it. The woman who kidnapped me, Carolyn Hamilton used to be a police officer. There was a situation a few years back that got kind of hairy and I got her out of it. I'm grateful it happened, because I think I'm alive because of that. She feels she owes me for saving her life."

Wonder Woman was quiet for a moment and then stood up. "I feel so useless. There must be something we can do." She paced the small room.

"Well, Diana must think something is up if you've had to save her from being kidnapped. She's pretty resourceful. I'd be surprised if she doesn't find us soon."

Wonder Woman couldn't look at Steve and remained silent. She'd be VERY surprised if Diana Prince came to rescue them.

"Wonder Woman, please," Steve said, patting the floor next to him. "Sit down and relax. You've been knocked out and left without your powers."

Wonder Woman smiled and sat down next to Steve. "I do feel a little weak. I can usually shake this stuff off." She was so used to saving his life and running away to turn back into Diana Prince. She'd never just sat down and spoken to him.

"So, you said you have to wear your belt when you're away from home to keep your powers. Where do you live? You've been saving me for over a month now and I don't know a whole lot about you."

Wonder Woman smiled. "My home is an island far from here. It's so beautiful and majestic. My sisters and I have lived there for centuries."

"What made you come here and live with us?"

Wonder Woman blushed, knowing she couldn't tell Steve he was the main reason she came.

"A couple of months ago, the island was threatened by a terrorist group. We'd always lived in peace and it was decided someone needed to be an ambassador to the United States. I want to do my part to keep the United States safe. In doing that, I keep my home land safe."

Steve looked down at his lap. "So are you married there? Is there a Mr. Wonder Woman?"

Wonder Woman laughed. "No. We're an island of Amazon women. We don't need men to complete us and have lived without them. My sisters and I live in harmony and spend our days exercising, learning, and communing."

"A whole island of women like you? That sounds like a place I'd love to visit."

Wonder Woman smiled. If he only knew. She suddenly realized she was cold, and put her arms around her shoulders. She shivered.

"Here, take this." Steve picked up his cardigan and wrapped it around Wonder Woman's shoulders. "You never seem to be dressed for cold weather."

Wonder Woman chuckled. Steve put his arm around her and rubbed her arms, trying to warm her up.

"I don't think I've ever been this cold," she said, teeth chattering.

"Come here." He moved closer to Wonder Woman and kept his arms around her, trying to give her some of his body heat.

Wonder Woman closed her eyes and put her head on his shoulder. "I feel so weak. It's so unsettling not to have my belt and my strength."

"Sometimes it's good not to be the strong one for everyone else. Wonder Women need to be comforted too."

Wonder Woman leaned into Steve, with her hands on his chest. He was radiating with warmth. "Thank you for this. I'm feeling much warmer."

Steve was reveling in the feeling of holding such a wonderful woman. He didn't want the moment to last.

Wonder woman brought her head up and looked at Steve. Their eyes met and locked. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Steve looked concerned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I feel so weak, and tired and cold and anything but a wonder woman. I can't even get you out of here. I'm supposed to keep you safe."

Steve took out a handkerchief and Wonder Woman wiped her eyes with it. "Wait a minute. I feel very safe with you by my side. We'll get out of this. I have faith. Let me be the man for once. Let me take care of you."

A quiet sob escaped her lips. Steve put his arm around her shoulder again and held her close. Wonder Woman sniffled.

"What about you? Have you always lived in Washington DC?" She asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I was what was known as a military brat. My dad was a pilot in the Army Air Corps, so I moved around a lot as a kid. Maryland was where my dad retired. I lived there until I was 18. And then about seven years ago, IADC hired me, so I've lived here ever since."

Wonder Woman rested her head on Steve's shoulder and closed her eyes. "What about the Air Force? How long were you in there for?"

Steve looked at the top of Wonder Woman's head. "What makes you think I was in the Air Force?"

There was no answer. Wonder Woman, Amazonian from an island paradise, had fallen asleep.

###

"Hey! Is anyone in there?" Steve awoke to a pounding on the door.

Wonder Woman sat up, startled.

"Who is it?" Steve asked.

"It's Pete. Pete the Driver. Is Diana Prince in there?"

"No, but will you rescue us anyway?" Steve said. He helped Wonder Woman to stand. She had a prominent bruise on her cheek but seemed more refreshed this morning. The effects of the spray must have worn off.

The door opened, and there was Pete the Driver, with a broad smile on his face. "Wonder Woman! They got you too? I tried following Diana's kidnapper but I lost him. This morning my son told me where he had been held, so I took a chance to come here and look for Diana."

"Thank goodness you did, Pete! What happened to your eye?"

Pete smiled. "I snuck up on your guard when he was asleep, and he woke up swinging. He's tied up over there. The police are on their way." He looked at Wonder Woman. "Hey, we've got matching shiners! I sure hope Diana is alright. I was sure I'd find her here."

"I haven't seen Diana, but I will look for her." She went to the desk and got her magic belt.

"Pete, this is Steve Trevor. Would you mind taking him to the IADC? Steve I'll find Diana and make sure she's at the trade conference by noon."

"Right, Wonder Woman. Thanks Pete, you saved us." Steve shook Pete's hand. He turned and looked at Wonder Woman. She met his eyes and smiled. Then she turned and strode away.

###

On the road again…..

Diana and Steve make it to the trade conference, where everyone is taken hostage. Diana escapes, turns into Wonder Woman and saves the day.

A couple of days later during report, Steve decides he's going to spend the last of his vacation in San Francisco. Diana tells him that the old and beautiful city might appeal to Wonder Woman. So, on the off chance, Steve flies to San Francisco.

Back to my story:

Steve sat on a bench on the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate Bridge, taking in the beautiful scene at sunset. He was content although he couldn't get his mind off of Wonder Woman. Not only did he feel closer to her after their night in the locked room, he saw her as more than a super hero. He saw her as a woman, who got cold, hurt, and yes, even cried. She endeared him to her even more because of that.

"Excuse me, sir. Is this seat taken?"

Steve was stirred out of his reverie. He looked up to an even more beautiful site. Wonder Woman was standing beside him in all her glory. She wore a short skirt and her cape. He stood up with a big smile on his face.

"Wonder Woman! What are you doing all the way out here? Is there trouble somewhere?"

Wonder Woman smiled and gestured to the park bench. "May I?"

"Oh! Of course! Please, sit." He waited for her to sit down before he sat down next to her.

"No, there's no trouble here. I just heard you were on vacation here and thought I would stop by to thank you for all you did for me when I lost my powers."

He took her hand. "Wonder Woman, you have saved me again and again. It felt good to repay the favor in some way, even if it was only to keep you warm." He looked at her face and hesitantly touched her cheek.

"Your cheek. It was bruised just a few days ago."

Wonder Woman touched his hand. "I heal quickly when I have my powers." With her magic belt restored and a healing potion from Paradise Island, her bruise was gone by the time Diana Prince had to be at the trade conference.

Their eyes met briefly and his hand dropped. He looked down awkwardly.

"The bridge is beautiful. I've never been here before." Wonder Woman crossed her legs.

"I've been here a few times on assignments. This is my first time here on vacation. "

"This is a nice change from how you spent the first part of your vacation." Wonder Woman said, throwing Steve a smile.

"This is my last night. I leave for DC tomorrow. What would make a perfect ending of my vacation would be if you allowed me to take you to dinner." Steve stood up and held out his hand for Wonder Woman.

"Oh, Steve. I would love to."

Off into the sunset they walked, searching for an out of the way restaurant where they could talk without Wonder Woman being mobbed.

Steve decided that although he wasn't big on being kidnapped, it sometimes did have its advantages. Especially when everything worked out at the end.


End file.
